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Poll Results: Which Elite 11 MVP will have a better BYU career?

The overwhelming majority (84%) voted that Jake Heaps will have a better BYU career than fellow Elite 11 MVP Tanner Mangum.

There are many ways to measure career success, but the majority is probably right.
Heaps will have four years to start, if he chooses. Mangum will have three, at the most, but probably just two. That right there gives a huge edge to Heaps. The team success in 2011 and 2012 could be very, very high. Assuming an 11-2 season or better, that would be very hard for Mangum to beat. Even if Mangum guides BYU to two 12-1 seasons, or better, it would be hard to say he had a better career without bigger stats. The other factor that favors Heaps is that we know he will have outstanding personnel on offense. Will Mangum have two big receivers like Cody Hoffman and Ross Apo? Right now, all we know about Mangum's receiving corps is that it will probably include Dylan Collie.

In the end, this question is very trivial and it doesn't really matter. All I know is that it is awesome that this question can even be asked. Having two Elite 11 MVP quarterbacks commit to BYU in such a short timeframe is historic and helps to build the excitement around the BYU football program.

Thank you to everyone who voted. Don't forget to vote in this week's poll: "Which 2011 game will be the hardest?"

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BYU football has been pretty hard to watch in 2017, particularly on offense. After game two, a 27-0 loss to LSU, Head Coach Kalani Sitake said, "I know I am coming down hard on the offense, but, man, let's be honest, that was the issue." The offensive production hasn't gotten much better since, and Sitake hasn't changed his rhetoric.

Who would blame him? BYU is averaging 9.8 points per game, 4.3 yards per play (3.2 yards per rush and 5.2 yards per pass), and 221.75 total yards per game. The Cougar offense has converted just 34 percent of third downs, has averaged 23:47 time of possession, and has a 93.7 pass efficiency rating.

That has some fans speculating that one or more coaches will be fired before the end of the season. That is madness. No one on the BYU coaching staff will be unemployed before the game at Hawaii on November 25.

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Growing up a fan of BYU football was fun. The foundation had already been laid with the 1984 National Championship, the long list of All-American quarterbacks, and the reputation of being an unstoppable offensive powerhouse. I witnessed Ty Detmer win the Heisman Trophy, Steve Young win Super Bowl MVP honors, and the legendary LaVell Edwards build a team that won the Cotton Bowl and could compete with any team in the country.

It wasn't long ago that Max Hall delivered on his passionate halftime guarantee, "We're going to win," and beat the number 3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The Cougars did it without running back Harvey Unga, who would set the school's career rushing record later that year.

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Some fans are calling for a coaching change. Others are preaching patience. A third group wants the offensive coaches to run a different scheme.

It is no secret that offensive coordinator Ty Detmer is not trying to run the same scheme he used as a player at BYU to rewrite the NCAA record book. The offense he wants to run resembles what he learned during his 14 seasons in the NFL.

Lackluster results this year has this approach under scrutiny. After all, Tanner Mangum does not look like the same quarterback who passed for 3,377 yards, 23 touchdowns, and had a 136 pass efficiency rating in Robert Anae's offense as a freshman.

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